Origin of Nuclear Science; Nuclei, Isotopes and Isotope Separation; Nuclear Mass and Stability; Unstable Nuclei and Radioactive Decay; Radionuclides in Nature; Absorption of Nuclear Radiation; Radiation Effects on Matter; Detection and Measurement Techniques; Uses of Radioactive Tracers; Cosmic Radiation and Elementary Particles; Nuclear Structure; Energetics of Nuclear Reactions; Particle Accelerators; Mechanics and Models of Nuclear Reactions; Production of Radionuclides; The Transuranium Elements; Thermonuclear Reactions: the Beginning and the Future; Radiation Biology and Radiation Protection; Principles of Nuclear Power; Nuclear Power Reactors; Nuclear Fuel Cycle; Behavior of Radionuclides in the Environment; Appendices; Solvent Extraction Separations; Answers to Exercises; Isotope Chart; Periodic Table of the Elements; Quantities and Units; Fundamental Constants; Energy Conversion Factors; Element and Nuclide Index; Subject Index.

A forefront radiation expert who consulted during the Chernobyl and Fukushima crises and the author of The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat identify the radioactive fundamentals of the planet while correcting myths to reveal the role of radiation in everyday life and what should and should not raise concern.

This book is a treatment on the foundational knowledge of Nuclear Science and Engineering. It is an outgrowth of a first-year graduate-level course which the author has taught over the years in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. The emphasis of the book is on concepts in nuclear science and engineering in contrast to the traditional nuclear physics in a nuclear engineering curriculum. The essential difference lies in the importance we give to the understanding of nuclear radiation and their interactions with matter. We see our students as nuclear engineers who work with all kinds of nuclear devices, from fission and fusion reactors to accelerators and detection systems. In all these complex systems nuclear radiation play a central role. In generating nuclear radiation and using them for beneficial purposes, scientists and engineers must understand the properties of the radiation and how they interact with their surroundings. It is through the control of radiation interactions that we can develop new devices or optimize existing ones to make them more safe, powerful, durable, or economical. This is why radiation interaction is the essence of this book.

This open access book traces the journey of nuclear law: its origins, how it has developed, where it is now, and where it is headed. As a discipline, this highly specialized body of law makes it possible for us to benefit from the life-saving applications of nuclear science and technology, including diagnosing cancer as well as avoiding and mitigating the effects of climate change. This book seeks to give readers a glimpse into the future of nuclear law, science and technology. It intends to provoke thought and discussion about how we can maximize the benefits and minimize the risks inherent in nuclear science and technology. This compilation of essays presents a global view in discipline as well as in geography. The book is aimed at representatives of governments -- including regulators, policymakers and lawmakers -- as well representatives of international organizations and the legal and insurance sectors. It will be of interest to all those keen to better understand the role of law in enabling the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear technology around the world. The contributions in this book are written by leading experts, including the IAEA's Director General, and discuss the four branches of nuclear law -- safety, security, safeguards and nuclear liability -- and the interaction of nuclear law with other fields of national and international law.

A recipient of the PROSE 2017 Honorable Mention in Chemistry & Physics, Radioactivity: Introduction and History, From the Quantum to Quarks, Second Edition provides a greatly expanded overview of radioactivity from natural and artificial sources on earth, radiation of cosmic origins, and an introduction to the atom and its nucleus. The book also includes historical accounts of the lives, works, and major achievements of many famous pioneers and Nobel Laureates from 1895 to the present. These leaders in the field have contributed to our knowledge of the science of the atom, its nucleus, nuclear decay, and subatomic particles that are part of our current knowledge of the structure of matter, including the role of quarks, leptons, and the bosons (force carriers). Users will find a completely revised and greatly expanded text that includes all new material that further describes the significant historical events on the topic dating from the 1950s to the present. - Provides a detailed account of nuclear radiation – its origin and properties, the atom, its nucleus, and subatomic particles including quarks, leptons, and force carriers (bosons) - Includes fascinating biographies of the pioneers in the field, including captivating anecdotes and insights - Presents meticulous accounts of experiments and calculations used by pioneers to confirm their findings

After World War II, the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) began mass-producing radioisotopes, sending out nearly 64,000 shipments of radioactive materials to scientists and physicians by 1955. Even as the atomic bomb became the focus of Cold War anxiety, radioisotopes represented the government’s efforts to harness the power of the atom for peace—advancing medicine, domestic energy, and foreign relations. In Life Atomic, Angela N. H. Creager tells the story of how these radioisotopes, which were simultaneously scientific tools and political icons, transformed biomedicine and ecology. Government-produced radioisotopes provided physicians with new tools for diagnosis and therapy, specifically cancer therapy, and enabled biologists to trace molecular transformations. Yet the government’s attempt to present radioisotopes as marvelous dividends of the atomic age was undercut in the 1950s by the fallout debates, as scientists and citizens recognized the hazards of low-level radiation. Creager reveals that growing consciousness of the danger of radioactivity did not reduce the demand for radioisotopes at hospitals and laboratories, but it did change their popular representation from a therapeutic agent to an environmental poison. She then demonstrates how, by the late twentieth century, public fear of radioactivity overshadowed any appreciation of the positive consequences of the AEC’s provision of radioisotopes for research and medicine.

"Nuclear weapons, since their conception, have been the subject of secrecy. In the months after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the American scientific establishment, the American government, and the American public all wrestled with what was called the "problem of secrecy," wondering not only whether secrecy was appropriate and effective as a means of controlling this new technology but also whether it was compatible with the country's core values. Out of a messy context of propaganda, confusion, spy scares, and the grave counsel of competing groups of scientists, what historian Alex Wellerstein calls a "new regime of secrecy" was put into place. It was unlike any other previous or since. Nuclear secrets were given their own unique legal designation in American law ("restricted data"), one that operates differently than all other forms of national security classification and exists to this day. Drawing on massive amounts of declassified files, including records released by the government for the first time at the author's request, Restricted Data is a narrative account of nuclear secrecy and the tensions and uncertainty that built as the Cold War continued. In the US, both science and democracy are pitted against nuclear secrecy, and this makes its history uniquely compelling and timely"--